Still urges Hatters to cut out individual errors

Mike Simmonds

Hatters boss John Still has demanded his side cut out the individual errors that have been creeping into the game recently ahead of tonight’s trip to Newport County.

The Luton chief was disappointed with his defence for conceding after just five minutes against Portsmouth on Saturday, especially when he had warned them about striker Matt Tubbs.

“When I look at it and try to be honest with it, the manager and coaches can’t be responsible for individual errors, it’s not possible.”

John Still

Still, who has now seen Town give a number of poor goals away in recent weeks, said: “When the team should do better at any level, at any club, the manager looks at himself.

“Have I picked the right formations? Picked the right team? But when I look at it and try to be honest with it, the manager and coaches can’t be responsible for individual errors, it’s not possible.

“We can be responsible for how a team plays, shape of the team, but can’t be responsible for the goals we concede at Wimbledon away. While our first goal the other day as it’s something we were aware of and talked about.

“The areas that Tubbs likes to work in, how we can’t let him get across us, so we were fully aware.

“We didn’t deserve to get beat but this is football and you don’t always get what you deserve. We did get beat, we have to take that performance forward but cut out the errors, simple as that.”

Still believes that having the core of his side broken up in recent weeks has played its part in Luton’s defensive instability though as he added: “Until we were forced into a change with Macca (Steve McNulty) and Wilko (Luke Wilkinson) and (Nathan) Doyle coming out, we were safe and secure defensively and had been for a year and a half.

“With them coming out but coming back in, missing Doyle, we haven’t been as secure as we have been.

“That’s what disappointed me in terms of how hard we work in those areas not to concede.

“Everything in terms of organisation of our team has been right. The last few performances haven’t been particularly bad, we’ve been disappointing in halves of games, but overall we’ve played very well half a game.

“But the game is 90 minutes, people have got to step up to the plate and individual errors, we’ve got to stop giving them away.”